Edwaed mayka



'UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

EDWARD IMAYNARD, OF WASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.

PHoToGaAPi-no ALBUM.

Specication forming part of Letters Patent No. 13,696, dated August 2,1864.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, EDWARD MAYNARD, of thecity of Washington, in the District of Columbia, have invented certainnew and useful Improvements in Photograph-Albums,

which are also applicable to Portfolios, Music-Files, Letter-Files,8vo.; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, andexact descriptionthereof, reference being had to the accompanyingdrawings, foriniug part of this specification, in which- Figures 1 and 2are perspective views of my improved album, representing it as partiallyfilled with cards and closed and Fig. 3 is a perspective view of thesame as it appears when open.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the severalfigures.

The chief object of my invention is to affo d a neat, convenient, andcheap substi tute for the modern photograph-albums, which are, for themost part, costly as well as inconveniently bulky.

The case or cover within which I secure the photographcards is verysimilar to an ordinary book-cover. being composed simply of two stiffleaves, A and B, connected with each other at one edge by the flexibleback (l. This case may be covered with morocco,

velvet, or other suitable material which will give a neat finishthereto; but it is to the manner of securing the cards Within this casethat my invention particularly relates, and to this end the leaves A andB areperforated each with two eyelet-holes, as indicated at a b and c d,and to the outside of one ot' the leaves, as A, is secured a loop, D, ofelastic tape. lne cards intended to be placed within the oase are eachperforated at two points, near one edge thereof', these perforzvionsbeing such a distance apart as that they will coincide, as nearly aspracticable, with those in the cover at ci b and c d when the cards areplaced properly vwithin the cover. Into the loop D is passed a cord, e,Whose ends are provided with suitable tags, and which is of such lengthas to admit of its extending through the eyelet-holes a and b, theperforations in the cards, the eyelet-holes c and d, and of being tiedend to end on the outside of the cover, all as clearly represented inthe drawings. In tying together the ends of the cord e care should betaken to draw the cord so tight as t0 extend in a proper degree theelastic loop D. The effect of the constant tension of the elastic loopupon the oord c is such as that the cover adapts itself to the retentionin a compact body of whatever number of cards there may be placedtherein, its capacity being only limited by the extensibility of theflexible back C. The elastic band E, attached to one of the leaves, asA, forms a suitable self-adjustable clasp for the cover.

It will be observed that an addition to the contents ofthe album may bevery readily made, it being only Anecessary to untie the cord, draw itsends through the eyelet-holes c and d, pass them through theperfor-ations in the additional cards or papers, and out again throughthe eyeletholes c and d, and tie them together as before. With equalease any portion of the contents may be removed.

Although I have described my improvements as applied to aphotograph-album, it is obvious that they may with advantage be appliedto the tiling of letters, 85o., and to other analogous purposes.

I am aware that various portfolios, musictiles, &c., have been madewherein papers are secured by means of cords passing througii them, andalso that in some instances these portfolios have been m .tdeself-adjustable by means of elastic bands to which one end of eachtiling string has been attached; but in all cases heretofore theseelastic bands or their equivtlents have been secured to the inside ofthecover, thereby rendering the contents ofthe portfolio liable to injury.I do not therefore claim, broadly, the invention of a photograph albumor portfolio made self-adjustable by the combination of tilingstringsand elasticbands; but,

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as my invention,and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

A selfadjusting photograph-album or p0rtfolo having an elastic stra-p orloop, D, secured upon one leaf thereof, and combined with a retainingcord, c, and other parts of the album or portfolio, substantially in themanner and for the purpose herein set forth.

The foregoing specification signed and witnessed this 16th day of March,A. D. 1864.

ED WARD MAYNARD.

Witnesses G. W. MAYNARD, J. R. PIPER.

